Should I have yearly maintenance checks done on my residential garage door?

Yes, you absolutely should have yearly maintenance checks for your residential garage door. In fact, you should actually have one done twice during the year. As is true with most things, you’re going to have to spend far more time and money fixing something that has become a problem than you would to prevent the problem.

A garage door that is not well maintained can become an expensive headache, as well as, a dangerous part of your home. It weighs more than 100 lbs. and it moves, so it’s not something you want to just take for granted when we’re talking about how dangerous it could be if it starts having operational or other issues.

The safety of you and your loved ones should be a priority

A quick Internet search will yield you some unfortunate examples of accidents that have happened because of garage doors functioning improperly. Thousands of people get hurt each year in unnecessary accidents involving garage doors.

Having your residential garage door checked for maintenance issues every year can uncover the things that can cause accidents like what we mentioned above. Usually, garage door accidents are caused by any of a few different things:

• A component has stopped working.
• The spring system is off-balance.
• One or both automatic reversal systems needs to be recalibrated.

Put your yearly maintenance on a schedule

You should make this as easy on yourself as possible. Set a reminder in your phone or other device for when your garage door is due for its checkup. You’ll need about a half hour set aside for a specialist to come and check it out.

The person performing the checkup will be able to do so pretty quickly. All they will be doing is visually inspecting the different components of your garage door system, lubricating the appropriate metal parts and testing the automatic reversal systems if that’s applicable in your case.

More about what you need to know

In the very least, you should be having your garage door system checked for maintenance issues once a year. But if you use your garage door a lot, it would be best if you schedule checkups two or more times during the year. Our recommendation is that you have it checked right before the weather turns cold and right before the weather turns hot.

The visual inspection

• It’s more like the physical inspection. There are things that you will be able to see that are wrong, but you can also hear things that are wrong. Pay attention for those.
• Your lifting cables do a lot of moving back and forth. You need to make sure they are not starting to fray or tear anywhere. Look for anything that seems to be crooked. Also, look up at the grooved drum. Make sure it looks normal too.
• Check out the spring system. There are two types:
• Extension: installed above the horizontal tracks
• Torsion: anchored over the door inside a housing shaft
• Ensure all parts of the spring system are functioning ok

• Watch the rollers working. Make sure nothing is broken, bent, and that they are indeed rolling, not sliding.
• Look at the hinges. Is anything loose? Are the brackets intact? Is anything starting to look rusty or corroded?
• Is all of the weatherstripping in good condition? Is it still effective at sealing the garage and keeping rodents and other pests out of the space?
• Is the photoelectric reversal system clear of dirt or anything else that can cause an obstruction? Is it calibrated properly?

The lubrication needed

Two different types of lubricants can be used. All of the metal parts should be lubricated with something like 5W30 car engine oil. The weatherstripping requires a different kind of lubricant that is silicone-based. Both kinds can be purchased at All-Mont Garage Doors. Everything needs to be thoroughly cleaned before lubricating the important parts, including old lubricants from past maintenance checks.

Here’s what needs to be lubricated:

• Metal parts
• Spring system: a little oil directly onto the springs
• Rollers: a little oil in the ball bearings
• Hinges: a little oil where the hinge joint is
• Tracks: a little oil, both where the track curves, and anywhere that’s horizontal

• Weatherstripping
• Exterior frame: across the side of the weatherstripping that faces inside
• Between door sections: across the entire in-between section
• Bottom of door: across the entire surface area of the weatherstripping

Safety testing

Testing of the two automatic reverse systems should really be completed every month. You want to make sure these are both functioning and not in need of any adjustment.

• To test a mechanical reversal system, just put a piece of wood on the floor underneath where the garage door will be coming down. Lower the garage door and wait to see that the reversal system kicks in when the bottom of the door touches the piece of wood. The door should automatically open back up all the way.

• To test the photoelectric reversal system, press the button to close the garage door. When it starts to roll down, wave your foot past one of the sensor units that is towards the bottom of the doorway and off to the side. Again, the door should reverse itself and open back up all the way.
• WARNING: It’s highly important that your automatic reversal system functions the way that it should. If it doesn’t, contact All-Mont Garage Doors immediately for help with getting it repaired or replaced.

If you decide to have your garage door regularly checked and maintained the way that you should, you will be preventing bad things from happening later and likely extending the life of your door and its associated systems. It’s definitely worth the minimal effort it takes to get things all checked out.

Let the experts help you

You don’t have to perform the inspections yourself. You have enough going on in your life already. Our experts already have everything they need to take care of your garage door and know exactly what they are looking at when they come to do an inspection. You can book an appointment now. Contact us at 1-800-957-5865. We will help you choose a tune-up service that is right for your needs. We know garage doors inside and out.

Also, if you’d rather not stop your day to make a phone call, we can certainly send you a quote by email. We’re here to help however we can!